Insight Education Centre

Assist us to Reach 1000 Blind and Vision Impaired Students

One-off DonationOne-offRegular DonationRegular

$

Insight is Victoria's only Centre of Education Excellence for the blind and vision impaired.

A group of parents supported by the general community, philanthropic organisations and special state and federal government grants created Insight Stage 1 when Victoria's only school for the blind closed at the end of 2009. Insight's mission is to ensure the provision of quality education services, including access to core curriculum and necessary therapy services, to students who are blind or vision impaired and who may have additional disabilities, in order to empower them to achieve their highest level of independence, self-esteem and self-confidence.

Over 60% of today's blind and vision impaired children will be unemployed as adults. These are the children that need our help. They struggle daily to gain self-confidence, skills and self-esteem. They struggle to learn essential skills such as mobility and orientation. They struggle with the basic building blocks of education - numeracy and literacy. These are only the first foundations in building a whole child. These children are currently attending mainstream schools. This integration is vital to support the children's sense of belonging in society. However it provides a significant challenge in that mainstream schools are not well equipped or resourced to meet the unique holistic needs of these children.

Insight is a new inclusive independent education centre that focusses on students and young people acquiring the academic and life skills required to gain full access to the mainstream learning environment. With your support, Insight will be establishing Satellite Mainstream Specialist Units embedded inside partner schools - 4 around Melbourne and 4 in country Victoria to give children local access to the same specialist education as students at the Insight Berwick hub have.

With your support, Insight can help improve the chances for blind and vision impaired children across Victoria to go on and gain an independent life as an adult. Your support is used to give SCHOLARSHIPS to needy families so that students can access school and life skills programs, and to BUILD STAGES 2 TO 5 of the unique facilities and MOBILE CLASSROOMS needed to deliver all the programs around Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Insight opened in interim premises in March 2012 with the inaugural Life Management Program and then Insight's Specialist Primary School commenced in February 2013. The Specialist Primary School moved into the beautiful Stage 1 building on the Monash University Campus in April 2014.

In Victoria, Insight is unique in providing the education and life-skills required to promote and nurture independence and provide opportunities for blind and vision impaired children to have a sense of purpose and reach their individual potential.

With your support, with our combined energy and efforts, we can show how 1000 children can achieve independence in life through effective academic and life-skills education.

What Insight provides:

The Hugh Williamson Foundation Life Management Program (at Berwick hub and as through InsightOut outreach):

Parent Support Program and Early Learning Program (for pre-schoolers and their families)

Life/study/work transition programs for children approaching change

Insight Support Skills for children of all ages from all mainstream schools (from 1 day/week to 1 day/month for each student all year)

Specialist Primary school for the 5-13 age group for up to 48 children at Berwick.

How will the funds be used?

The Scholarship Fund is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient and will help parents to enrol their children in Insight programs and specialist primary school/satellite mainstream units/mobile classroom programs, and teachers/teacher aides to develop expertise in their field.

The Building Fund is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient and is a vital source of funds needed to build and fit out Stages 2 to 5.